AS A SLEEPING FRIEND

53. Pretend (Author POV)

...2 Year Later ......

"Sherin up! What are you doing!" An old woman snapped at the young girl who nudged her beloved antique Gucci until it broke apart.

"Pardon me, ma'am. I didn't do it on purpose." The young lady's face looked pias and trembled in fear.

"Not intentionally said? You think that Gucci I bought for a bargain? It's worth more than your life!"

"Once again forgive me" said the girl who was then bowed not daring to look at the old woman before him.

Hearing the noise and noisiness, a young man approached the place that was the source of the commotion, he was quite surprised to see his grandmother's beloved Gucci had broken up in the corner of the room.

"What's this, Grandma?"

"Thank God you came, look what Sherin did! He broke grandma's antique urn."

"Sherin didn't do it on purpose, Grandma," the young man replied.

The old woman nodded in annoyance. "From the beginning, he was useless in this house. I still don't think, why did you spend so much money to make up for it at the slave sale! She's not even useful at all" the grandmother said.

"Enough, Grandma! Don't bring that up again."

"Or don't you fall in love with her, Nathan?"

The young man named Nathan threw away the look from the eyes of the Grandma who felt stabbed.

"Until any time he'll just be a slave! Remember the promise you made to Grandma that you would still make her a slave, if grandma would help you make up for it. So keep your promise!"

The Grandma left with a face that was flushed with anger. Nathan could only breathe out long.

"You okay?" Nathan approaches the girl he calls Sherin.

The girl looked up, from her position sitting in a wheelchair she looked into the netra of the young man who had helped her the last 1 year, Nathan.

"You don't have to defend me. I was wrong."

"That's it. Don't enlarge anymore. I'll call the waiter to clean up all this mess."

"No, let me take care of it. It's the result of my carelessness."

Nathan clenches his hand, annoyed at himself who can't do much in the shadow of his dictatorial grandmother.

About 1 year ago, Nathan accidentally found Sherin at a slave sale. He is willing to redeem the girl because Sherin's face reminds him of the girl he once liked, Elin.

At first, Nathan thinks Sherin is Elin, but the girl insists that she is Sherin. No one wants to make up for it in a house of slavery because of its crippled condition.

However, Nathan insists on redeeming the girl despite her Grandmother's opposition.

Still remembered in the head Nathan the promise he made to his grandmother at that time.

"Help me atone for it, Grandma. I don't have that kind of money."

At that time, Nathan also just met his biological grandmother who turned out to be quite famous in the city of Berlin. They've been separated long enough.

"Why your request is so strange. You know he's a slave and a cripple. Why spend a lot of money just for the sake of such a girl," said the Grandmother.

"I remember my late mother when I saw her face" Nathan replied. Actually he didn't lie, because that face reminded him of his mother when he was young, and that's what attracted Nathan to him from the beginning.

"All right, if so. But never be attracted to him more than this. Remember that she will forever remain a slave, if you agree to that then grandma will make it up to you today."

Nathan seems indecisive, but his determination to make up for the girl is stronger, he does not want the girl longer in the place of slavery and instead becomes a slave in someone else's house. Until finally, he agreed and promised his grandmother that forever he would assume if the girl was a slave in their residence.

Although it will still be a slave at his grandmother's house, but it's better because with so occasionally Nathan can still visit and see the situation.

...****...

Sherin is Elin. If anyone considers it amnesia, it is not wrong, because Elin always behaves as if she does not remember anything including herself in front of others. But in front of Nathan, he says he's Sherin.

Paralyzed? Of course he's not really paralyzed. He received good treatment until his body returned to health after an accident 2 years ago.

And about Nathan helping her out of slavery. Elin clearly knew the young man. The same young man who had once approached her while she was still contracting in the slum housing.

You could say, Elin lied to all parties about his condition. Including Nathan, even Liam and Irina who had trapped him and dumped him again in the most difficult situation in his life.

Elin was forced to lie for his own safety and until now he could not open his true identity even in front of Nathan whose incident will not hurt him.

Flashback ...

At first, Elin did not know what happened to her, but gradually she began to be able to conclude the situation because she heard Liam's conversation with Irina. It turns out that they conspired to destroy Javier with the accident that befell Elin.

Then, Elin also did not know why Irina and Liam still let her live and even provide health care for her. Eventually, however, Elin realizes that Liam is planning to sell him again. This time it was even worse, at a brothel.

Because Liam and Irina had a lot of fun together lately, they rarely saw Elin's situation and assumed that Elin was still dying. They leave everything to the health workers who they rarely ask about the development of Elin's health.

Until unsuspecting, they often talk about secret things in front of Elin that they think they will not hear. That also makes Elin know everything, including their plans.

Elin, in her frail state, began to plan for her safety. He knew that entertainment such as prostitution would demand perfection in his physique, so Elin intended to pretend to be paralyzed so that the value of his sale in that place would be recounted.

"He's conscious?" asked Liam who was aware of Elin's movements at that time.

"Well, it looks like he's conscious." Irina looks cramped. He's been waiting for this long enough. Elin has been in bed sickly for almost 6 months.

They both can't wait to take advantage of Elin and execute a plan to torture Elin by selling her in a brothel. But they did not know that Elin had also implemented a strategy to be free from such a place.

A few days passed, Elin showed that she was completely awake and fully recovered, but every time Liam asked her to speak Elin showed another attitude that made Liam curious.

"You remember who I am, right?"

Elin shook her head timidly, she knew that here she would play a role.

Of course, Liam does not believe in the circumstances of Elin who does not remember him. He asked the doctor who treated the girl.

"The accident could have caused him to lose his memory. Moreover, according to your description Miss Elin had experienced something similar when she was a child. If he used to have temporary amnesia, it is likely that now he also experienced the same thing or even worse because of the impact on his head. He could lose his memory forever."

The doctor's explanation actually makes Elin feel that the plan will run smoothly. After this, he would try to escape and get out of a place that even Elin did not know where his current position was.

"She should be able to start a new life with new memories, but unfortunately, she's paralyzed and her sale value will decrease even if we sell her anywhere!" liam Beaver.

"I don't care about the money, the most important thing is that you sell it immediately and he suffers" Irina replied.

Without the two of them knowing, Elin overheard the conversation.

"Sell anywhere that wants to receive it. If necessary, throw him into slavery even if it doesn't give you enough money." Irina gave her proposal again.

"Yeah, how else. He was paralyzed and I couldn't wait any longer for his recovery. We sell him as soon as possible to see him suffer" Liam agreed.

At that time, Elin intended to run away, but he did not have time to do it because Liam had already acted to sell it in place of slavery.

"Goodbye, Elin. If we don't accidentally meet again, maybe you'll never remember me again."

That was Liam's last words when he managed to put Elin in the place of slavery.

Even in the place of slavery, Elin continues to carry out her role as a paralyzed girl and forgets her memories. It was so that no one would be willing to make up for it and would actually make it a slave in their residence. But apparently, a few months from the last time Liam left it there, Elin actually met Nathan who finally brought Elin to the residence of the dictator Grandmother.

At first, Elin did not know whether she should recognize Nathan immediately or not, but eventually she chose to keep pretending not to remember anything so that Nathan considered him someone else and not Elin.

Since then, the name Elin changed to Sherin which was the given name of the place where she was sold. They do not tell Nathan that Elin is an amnesiac girl and Elin is grateful for that because that way Nathan will consider her a different girl and only have a face similar to Elin.

Flashback Off ...

...***...

Now, Elin is looking for a way to get out of Nathan's house because he has been here too long.

Not that Elin did not try, he had tried many times to escape from that place but always failed because he was really made like a slave there. Only when Nathan was in the house, then Elin could breathe a little.

If Nathan goes to do his other activities, then Elin will be tortured, locked up and often not fed. Not only did Nathan's grandmother do it, but the servants of the house also tortured him.

Sometimes, Elin wants to tell Nathan the truth about who he really is, but Elin is afraid that Nathan will come back to hope and put his heart on him.

Meanwhile, if Nathan finds out that he's not Elin, Nathan will still consider him a slave like the young man promised Grandma.

Nathan does often treat him specifically, and instead of Elin does not know, all that Nathan does because there is a heart for him, but somehow Elin still can not return the feelings of the young man just like that.

Elin was worried about the decision she would make in the future, did she really have to open her identity in front of Nathan? Is that how Nathan is going to let go? Or even keep him here after knowing if he really is Elin?

Not to mention when Elin thought of something else. His heart always hurts when he remembers Javier.

Ah, how's that guy doing? May Javier live well without him for the last 2 years.

...Connect ......